Research shows that Vermont could be an important destination for wildlife as the climate changes.
By Indi Rose
As the climate warms, flora and fauna across the U.S. are heading north in search of cooler temperatures, recent research from Science magazine has found. Experts in Vermont say the state has become an essential North American corridor for species to pass through.
In late July, The Nature Conservancy in Vermont allocated nearly $400,000 to four projects with the goal of keeping the state’s landscape connected for species on the move. The money will help landowners acquire the parcels of land to be conserved or place conservation easements on them so they can be managed with these trends in mind.
“If we don’t at a minimum conserve these critical focal areas, nature’s safety net will fragment even more,” said Eve Frankel, the nonprofit’s executive director of Vermont.
As the climate warms, many species are shifting their ranges in search of suitable conditions. A 2011 study found that North American species are pushing their territories 10.5 miles north and 36 feet higher in elevation per decade. These rates are two or three times higher than previously estimated, the study said.
Many animals’ new ranges are going to follow the Appalachian Mountains, cross through the Northeast, and then spread out into Canada, according to Jed Murdoch, a University of Vermont conservation biologist who is studying the effects of landscape change on mammals.
“Vermont is located right at this pinch point; it’s like this funnel point,” Murdoch said. “In terms of managing northward shifts of species ranges, we hold a lot of importance for making sure that they’ve got the capacity to move, and I think that goes underrecognized.”
So far, Murdoch has observed range shifts with Vermont’s populations of moose, grey foxes, Canada lynx, American marten and many bird species. But the animals’ movements can be blocked when roads, developments and other infrastructure divides the landscape into isolated patches, an issue known as fragmentation.
A 2015 study published in Science Advances has shown that the effects of habitat fragmentation can persist for decades, altering species abundance and biodiversity long after a landscape has been divided. Researchers found that 70% of the world’s remaining forest lies within a kilometer of a forest edge, exposing much of the world’s remaining habitat to the effects of fragmentation.
A different 2013 study, which modeled what happens when conservation areas are connected, found that larger, better-connected protected areas can improve the persistence of wildlife populations.
Vermont’s conservation goals increasingly reflect this idea. In 2023, state lawmakers passed the Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act, known as Act 59. It calls for conserving 30% of Vermont’s land by 2030 and 50% by 2050. Vermont has already conserved 89% of the land necessary to hit the goal for 2030, according to the state’s Act 59 Inventory.
But Act 59 does not define success simply by the number of acres protected. It also aims to maintain an “ecologically functional landscape” that sustains biodiversity, maintains connectivity and promotes climate resilience.
Operating with the same goal, The Nature Conservancy invited land trusts, municipalities and state agencies to apply for grants from its Vermont Biodiversity Protection Fund.
The nonprofit received a handful of applications and chose four sites that could be future destinations for wildlife migrating to the Green Mountain State The areas encompass land in Athens, Marlboro, Fairfield, Fletcher, Bakersfield and Thetford.
The Wintergreen Forest is the largest out of the four, spanning 1,490 acres that are used for sustainable timber harvest, managed by the Trust for Public Land.
Winter Wren Nature Preserve in Marlboro is 531 acres and provides an “important linkage” to the Green Mountain National Forest, The Nature Conservancy says. Green Mountain Conservancy will own and manage the land, while two other nonprofits will hold conservation easements.
The 120-acre Houghton Hill Natural Area in Thetford provides a corridor between the Southern Green Mountains in Vermont and White Mountains in New Hampshire. The Upper Valley Land Trust will own the land.
Finally, the smallest of the group is a 15-acre connectivity corridor called Athens Community Forest Expansion, which will be managed by Bull Creek Common Lands.
“Strategic protection of lands with high connectivity value is a great way to invest our limited conservation resources,” said Gus Goodwin, director of science and technology advancement for Vermont and New Hampshire’s Nature Conservancy branches. “There are places that play an outsized role in supporting the movement of species.”
The recent grants reflect an effort to preserve wildlife habitat before the need becomes more urgent.
Frankel recounted an analogy she heard once about the philosophy of conservation, equating it to baseball. Every season, the players, or species, change. But the game can go on so long as the stadiums, or habitats, remain.
“If we can protect the arenas for nature,” Frankel said, the “wildlife and the species dependent on these habitats will adapt.”
Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship